Kansan-Salvadoran Solidarity Action

Transcription

1 July 24, Licenciado Ástor Escalante Saravia Acting Attorney General Attorney General s Office Republic of El Salvador Dear Licenciado Escalante: The undersigned international organizations would like to express our profound concern for the kidnapping and brutal assassination of Gustavo Marcelo Rivera Moreno activist and community leader from the city of San Isidro in the province of Cabañas. We appreciate the steps taken by the Civil National Police (PNC) and the Attorney General s Office that have led to the arrest of four suspects. However we consider it of the utmost importance to deepen the investigation in a timely manner in order to bring to justice the intellectual authors as well as those who carried out the murder. As you know, Marcelo Rivera disappeared on Thursday June 18th after leaving his house for San Salvador. His corpse was found on July 1st in a dry well in the village of Agua Zarca, near the town of Ilobasco. His body showed signs of terrible torture: his face was disfigured and his fingers mutilated. DNA testing had to be done to confirm that the body found was in fact Marcelo s. A forensic report determined that the cause of death was asphyxiation, which occurred more than 72 hours before the autopsy. This evidence suggests that Marcelo s kidnappers may have kept him alive for several days before murdering him. We are deeply concerned that since four gang members have been considered the key suspects in this crime, the prosecutor s hypothesis is that Marcelo left with these gang members and that his assassination occurred because of a heated discussion after consuming alcoholic beverages. We vehemently reject the statement made by Prosecutor Rodolfo Delgado, who attributed the motives of this crime as common violence, discarding a priori the existence of intellectual authors of this assassination. We believe there is sufficient evidence to suggest that this crime had political motivations. Marcelo was a strong community leader he was the founder and director of the Casa de la Cultura in San Isidro, a member of the departmental board of the FMLN party and the director of the Association of Friends of San Isidro Cabañas (ASIC). Marcelo tirelessly struggled to protect the environment, opposing industrial mining by the Canadian mining company Pacific Rim in San Isidro. In addition, during the January 2009 municipal elections, Marcelo and other leaders denounced and stopped the electoral fraud that had been planned in his municipality. As a result of his activism, in recent months Marcelo received death threats, he was a victim of defamatory campaigns and someone attempted to run over him with a car. None of this evidence has been considered in the investigation of the crime motive. In addition the modus operandi of

2 the assassination, characterized by kidnapping and torture, indicates that this was a premeditated crime, with intellectual authors and hired hitmen. We believe that there are serious irregularities that need to be investigated and corrected including the ignoring of the above elements and the slow response of the police in the initial search for Marcelo. We are indignant and saddened that Salvadorans who are committed to social justice fall victim to this type of violence. Many colleagues of the undersigned organizations had the privilege to work with Marcelo. They were eye witnesses to Marcelo s tireless work and to the joy and hope that he inspired in so many people. It is inspiring to see all the fruits of Marcelo s work from folkloric dances for children to community action workshops. As members of the international community in solidarity with the people of El Salvador, we are calling on the Office of the Attorney General to carry out an impartial, exhaustive, and effective investigation in order to bring to justice the intellectual and material authors of this horrendous crime. If Marcelo s murder is left in a state of impunity, it will generate a climate of intimidation and uncertainty for social leaders and activists, undermining the advances in the democratic process in El Salvador. We thank you in advance for looking into this matter. We hope there will be timely justice in this case and that Marcelo s family will be compensated for their loss. Regards, Agricultural Missions, Inc. Alliance for Global Justice Arlington/Lexington UJP Arlington-Teosinte Sister City Project Asociación Cultural MILPA Asociación Salvadoreña Canadiense de Ottawa (ASCORCAN) Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network Austin-Guajoyo Sister City Project Bangor,Maine - Carasque, El Salvador Sister City Committee Bend-Condega Friendship Project Binghamton El Charcón Sister City Project, Binghamton, NY, USA Binghamton-El Charcon Sister City Project Bolivia Action Solidarity Network, Ottawa Ontario Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church Cambridge-San José las Flores Sister City Project Campaign for Labor Rights Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Canadian Union of Public Employees of ON Solidarity Committee Canadian Union of Public Employees, Ontario Division Canadian's Against Mining in El Salvador (CAMES) Caribbean & Latin America Support Project

3 Central American Resources Center (CARECEN) San Francisco Central American Resources Center (CARECEN) Washington DC Central American Women s Fund Centro de Intercambio y Solidaridad (CIS) Chicago-Cinquera Sister Cities Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles Coalition on the Socio-Environmental Impacts of Mining in Latin America, Montreal ON CoDevelopment Canada Colombia Action Network Comité de Solidaridad Monseñor Romero, Washington DC Comité pour les droits humains en Amérique latine (CDHAL) Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) Community Organizing Center, OH Doctors for Global Health (Doctores Para la Salud Global) Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Caribbean (EPICA) Entraide Missionaire, Montreal, Canada Fellowship of Reconciliation Task Force on Latin America and the Carribbean First United Church of Decorah, Iowa's Sister Parish *chapter FMLN Minnesota Fisios Mundi FOCUS Central America -Wichita, Kansas Friends of Chilama from Crystal Lake Global Youth Network -- Canada Good Shepherd Church -El Salvador Ministry, Shawnee, KS Greater New Haven Peace Council Grupo No a Pascua-Lama, Montreal, Canada Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA Horizons of Friendship Canada Institute for Global Leadership Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence Interconnect Newsletter International Partners International Committee Against Mining Exploitation Kansan-Salvadoran Solidarity Action Labor/Community Strategy Center L'APPEL France Latin America Solidarity Coalition (LASC) Latin American Canadian Solidarity Association (LACASA), LONDON, ON Latin American Solidarity Network-Toronto

4 Latin American/Caribbean Committee of the Loretto Community Leadership Conference of Women Religious Los Amates and the Garden State, NJ, USA Madison Arcatao Sister City Project Manhattan Alliance for Peace and Justice Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns Maryland Presbyterian Church Mining Watch Canada Missionary Oblates -Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation National Immigrant Solidarity Network National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association Nicaragua Center for Community Action Nicaragua Network North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) North Country Coalition for Justice and Peace, St. Johnsbury, Vermont, USA Oberlin in Solidarity with El Salvador, Oberlin, OH Office of the Americas Ontario Public Research Interest Group (OPIRG) Carleton Pax Christi Northeast Florida Pax Christi USA: National Catholic Peace Movement Peace through International Community Action (PICA) Progressio - El Salvador Psicologi per i Popoli Torino Quixote Center Resurrection Lutheran Church Salvadoran American National Association (SANA) Salvadoran Canadian Association of Toronto (ASALCA) SalvAide School of the Americas Watch SHARE Foundation: Building a New El Salvador Today Sister Parish St. John Fisher Catholic Community Justice and Peace Ministry St. Sebastian Parish - El Salvador Committee Task Force on the Americas Territorio Libre, Ottawa Ontario The Detroit SHARE Sister Community Committee The Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Ceremony The Romero Interfaith Center The Windsor Las Vueltas Twin City Project US-El Salvador Sister Cities Unitarian Universalist Service Committee

5 United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries Voices on the Border Wisconsin Resources Protection Council of La Crosse, Wisconsin Women's Community House - London ON Cc/ Mr. Mauricio Funes. President of El Salvador Mr. Humberto Centeno. Ministerio de Gobernación Mr. Carlos Ascencio. Director, National Civil Police (PNC). Mr. Saúl Vanegas. Chief of Public Safety, San Isidro Office. Mr. Robert Blau. Charge d'affaires, US Embassy to El Salvador Ms. Claire Poulin. Canadian Ambassador to El Salvador